The possibility of Gaelic as a political tool worries the NT

[Gràisg]

"The Nairnshire Telegraph - Editorial 04/09/12 Bad Language

The infiltration of Gaelic into local nomenclature has reached a new level in Nairn with bilingual street plates in one of the town's newest developments. It has angered at least one Nairnite but it is a reflection of Highland Council's policy of promoting the Gaelic language. The problem is that very few people in Nairn speak the language except enthusiasts and some incomers from Gaelic speaking areas. The question of relevancy is supreme.

The presence of Gaelic in heritage terms in Nairnshire is undeniable. Almost all the place-names of the old county are Gaelic in their form, if not their origin. The language lingers in the local accent and in the pronunciation of some local names. The Nairn area is the place where the historic Gaeltacht begins. There is no doubt that between Forres and Inverness there was a sharp linguistic divide roughly centred on Nairn. Nairn may have been beyond The Pale of a mediaeval ethnic cleansing of Gaelic (Irish) speakers from Moray. Gaelic was widely spoken in the area up to the middle of the 19th century and Gaelic fluency was a requirement in some ecclesiastical appointments upto the beginning of the 20th century. But use of Gaelic died out substantially after World War I and the last speaker of a local dialect died in the 1970s.

Whatever the wealth of evidence for its former presence, Gaelic has gone from present-day Nairn. However it is policy from Government to local authority that the language be nurtured and certainly be promoted in some areas. Because of its history, the use of Gaelic locally in this way is a moot point. It is certainly not justified by use. It is unfortunate however that as it moves from the Council's own signange to more general presence one of the first examples presents the more idiotic aspect of transliteration.

It may be that this is just an over-enthusiastic interpretation of council policy by a developer eager to please. But it's not the only one we have seen recently. We see the name of Edinburgh's Haymarket railway station has been rendered literally into Gaelic. What really is the purpose of this?

And what is the importance of language anyway? It is first of all about communication and yet, these days, it seems to be more and more about difference. Language as a definition of culture rapidly turns into politics. The patchwork of nationalities that is Europe is largely separated out by language and truly polyglot states are rare and often seriously divided. The future of the European Union may yet founder on this fact of linguistic diversity. Yet language is often transient and on a surprisingly short time scale. Gaelic was adopted by the Picts but its heyday of only a few centuries was overtaken by English which has at least a thousand years of currency in Scotland. If research into the genetic make-up of the population is anything to go by it appears to reveal some very old strains. What languages have come and gone since the ice melted and does it really matter anyway? We know who the people were. Us.

It is the political aspect that is eventually of concern. There is little doubt that Gaelic is on its death bed and being kept going by some hefty transfusions of money and political good will. There is no problem with giving it a chance to survive and preserving the culture that it represents. Outside some future apocalypse, modern media and archiving will ensure that Gaelic never becomes the dry soundless collection that Latin and Anglo-Saxon have become, or the near mystery that is the Pictish language.

But what worries us is the possibility that Gaelic will be used as a political tool. It is one thing to use signs to suggest that we are something we are not quite, it is quite another to use a language to separate people and to exclude. That is truly bad language."

[Thrissel]

Quite. To use a language to separate people and to exclude is truly bad language. BTW what will the next article frown upon, teenage slang, leetspeak or the language of press releases?

[Seonaidh]

Eau gosh. Chunnaic mi an tiotal agus smaoin, "National Trust???" Ach Nurnshire Torygraph - uill, dè tha dùil?

"Margadh an Fheòir": ciamar a dh'eadar-theangaichte sin gu Beurla? 'S dòcha gun dèante "Haymarket" an gnothach - dè ur beachd? Ach, gu dearbh, tha trì cànanan ann san steisean ud - tha mi air na soidhnichean fhaicinn. Air gach fear chithear a' Bheurla - "Haymarket". Air an dàrna leth dhiubh chithear a' Ghàidhlig - "Margadh an Fheòir". Agus tha rudeigin eile air nach eil mi eòlach idir air an leth eile - 's dòcha gur e Cruithnis a th' ann? Chan eil blas "Cuimris" ma dheidhinn co-dhiù - agus seo e (ma tha cuimhne ceart agam): "Alight here for the bus link to Edinburgh Airport". Mar nach robh mòran margaidhean ann ri linn nan Cruithneach, 's dòcha gum feumar dòigh eile airson "margadh" a chiallachadh, rudeigin coltach ri "àite far am faodar iomlaid a dhèanamh eadar feur is bathar eile".

[Neas Olc]

Ghàidhlig air soidhnichean coitcheann? Bha na Mayans ceart. Tha ceann an t-saoghail faisg oirnn.

it is quite another to use a language to separate people and to exclude. That is truly bad language.

Dè tha ise air a bhith ag òl? Ciamar a bhitheas soidhnichean rathaid a dealachadh daoine? Tha na Swiss fhathast le chèile, mar eil mi ceàrr.